Combat Sports

On the 5 of February 2016, the Martial Arts Studies Research Network held its first one-day seminar, on the theme of gender issues in theory and practice. Hosted by the University of Brighton, the day drew around 30 delegates, including academics from various fields of study and martial arts practitioners from a range of styles. The day featured discussion on a number of themes on the topic of gender; while a short summary of these can be found here, this report focuses on the key points raised by delegates during the first of two plenary sessions, addressing the ways in which clubs and gyms might best improve women’s and girls’ involvement in martial arts and combat sports (MACS).

Öz:  Bu çalışmada amaç, mücadele sporlarında (taekwon-do, muaytay) BOSU topları ile yaptırılan antrenmanların, sporcuların dinamik denge ve patlayıcı güce olan etkile-rini araştırmaktır. Araştırmanın evreni, Düzce Üniversitesi Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi öğrencileridir. Çalışma grubu, 30 erkek gönüllü sporcu ile oluşturuldu. Gruplar, ba-sit tesadüfi örneklem yöntemi kullanılarak, çalışma (n= 15) ve kontrol (n= 15) gru-bu olarak belirlendi. Patlayıcı güç, kuvvet platformu ile ölçüldü. Dinamik denge egzersizlerinde, BOSU topları kullanıldı. Dinamik denge testleri, kablosuz taşına-bilir denge sistemi (Sigma System Cosmo Gamma, Italy) ile ölçüldü. Bu testler için gözler açıkken çift ayak ve tek ayak (sol-sağ) testleri tercih edilmiştir. Ayrıca kuv-vet platformu (Bertec force platform P6000, U.S.A) ile çift ve tek ayakla (sol-sağ) dikey sıçrama yükseklikleri, zirve hız, zirve güç, zirve konsantrik kuvvet değerleri ölçüldü. İstatistiksel işlemlerde; tanımlayıcı istatistikler, ön test ve son test farkları SPSS Paket Programı kullanılarak hesaplandı. Karşılaştırılan özelliklerin normal dağılım durumlarına göre t testi veya Wilcoxon testleri kullanıldı. Araştırma sonu-cunda, sağ ayakla dikey sıçrama patlayıcı güç değerlerinde deney grubu ve kontrol grubu arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark tespit edildi (p<.05). Bunun aksine dinamik denge (hunting, limit, slalom, stabiliometry and tracking tests) ve bazı pat-layıcı güç (çift ayak ve sol ayakla dikey sıçrama, zirve hız, zirve güç, zirve kon-santrik kuvvet testleri) değerlerinde, istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark bulunmadı.
Anahtar kelimeler: BOSU topu, Denge, Patlayıcı güç, Taekwon-do, Muay-tay
THE EFFECTS OF TRAININGS APPLIED WITH BOSU BALLS ON DYNAMIC BALANCE AND EXPLOSIVE IN COMBAT SPORTS
Abstract: The aim of the study is to investigate dynamic balance (DB) and explosive power (EP) of players in combat sports (taekwon-do, muay-thai) which are effected with BOSU balls. The population of the study is students of Düzce University Faculty of Sport Sciences. The study group consisted of 30 male volunteer athletes. The gro-ups are determined as study (n= 15) and control (n= 15) groups using simple ran-dom sampling method. Force platform was used for data of EP. BOSU balls were used for DB exercises. Wireless portable balance system (Sigma System Cosmo Gamma, Italy) was used for DB tests. For these tests, eyes open bipedal and unipe-dal tests were prefered. In addition, vertical jump with bipedal and unipedal (left-right), peak velocity, peak power and peak concentric force values were measured by force platform (Bertec force platform P6000, U.S.A). All statistical analyses were done by SPSS program, version 21. T test or Wilcoxon tests were used accor-ding to the normal distribution status of the compared properties. As a result, sig-nificant result was found between experiment (EG) and control groups (CG) on EP values (vertical jump with right–unipedal) (p<.05). On the contrary, no significant results were found between EG and CG on DB (hunting, limit, slalom, stabilio-metry and tracking tests) and some values of EP (vertical jump with bipedal, left -unipedal, peak velocity, peak power, peak concentric force) tests (p>.05). It think that these results may be occure that elite players were been at the both EG and CG. In addition, it is thought that if strenght trainings apply with BOSU balance exercises, significant differences may be found in next studies.
Keywords: Balance, BOSU ball, Explosive power, Muay-thai, Taekwon-do

Este Relatório Final do Estágio Científico Avançado de Pós-Doutoramento em Sociologia, no Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia (CIES-ISCTE) do ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, centra-se na “Análise sociológica de práticas de combate dual em Portugal: estudo de caso dos praticantes avançados do judo e do aikido”. A problemática subjacente à linha de investigação, na continuidade da tese de doutoramento sobre o karaté, prende-se com o estudo das afinidades dos praticantes a este tipo de desportos oriundos do Oriente e das identidades e diferenciações encontradas nas disposições e práticas sociais segundo os perfis socioculturais em cada uma das modalidades.

This paper investigates how boxers play mind games to affect their opponent's confidence during the three pre-bout periods of weigh-in, warm-up and ring entrance. Perspectives from four senior male amateur boxers at three boxing gyms in the Greater Manchester region were examined using semi-structured interviews; transcribed verbatim and data coded thematically. It was found that amateurs imitated professional boxers, with the more experienced amateurs adopting a broader range of mind games. This indicated that a form of behaviour modelling may evolve with growing experience in the sport.

This chapter outlines the Love Fighting Hate Violence (LFHV) project: an anti-violence initiative aimed at inspiring reflection and generating pedagogical interventions within martial arts and combat sports.  The goal of LFHV is to harness the potential of these activities for educating people about violence, specifically with respect to understanding the principles of consent and violation.  The chapter provides a theoretical overview of the project’s core philosophy by way of an interactionist reading of fights as social encounters.  It then turns to discussing some of the practical materials already developed for use within LFHV.  These draw on the aforementioned theory, as well as a values-based teaching methodology, to frame the potential contribution that this project can make to anti-violence education.

This volume presents a wide-reaching overview of contemporary research and scholarship on women's engagement in a range of combat sports across the world. Including chapters on boxing, wrestling, mixed martial arts, and various other fighting disciplines, the collection provides readers with a comprehensive analysis of the current significance of women's involvement in these sports, as well as charting many of the problems and opportunities they face in establishing and developing careers within them.

With contributions drawing from anthropology, phenomenology, philosophy, sociology, and sport psychology, this book will appeal to readers interested in the development of women's sport; the relationship between sport and gender; and the wider, contemporary social significance of combat sports around the world.

To view the table of contents and read a sample chapter online, please click here: http://www.palgrave.com/resources/sample-chapters/9781137439352_sample.pdf

This volume presents a wide-reaching overview of contemporary research and scholarship on women&#39;s engagement in a range of combat sports across the world. Including chapters on boxing, wrestling, mixed martial arts, and various other fighting disciplines, the collection provides readers with a comprehensive analysis of the current significance of women&#39;s involvement in these sports, as well as charting many of the problems and opportunities they face in establishing and developing careers within them. With contributions drawing from anthropology, phenomenology, philosophy, sociology, and sport psychology, this book will appeal to readers interested in the development of women&#39;s sport; the relationship between sport and gender; and the wider, contemporary social significance of combat sports around the world.

La concepción del deporte y de la educación corporal durante el régimen franquista mantiene y se mantiene a través los mecanismos ideológicos y de organización política propios de los regímenes fascistas, aunque con no poco importantes iniciativas democratizadoras al margen del estado, sobre todo, en ámbitos donde la práctica deportiva había estado presente antes de 1936.
Las escasas publicaciones técnicas existentes no fueron capaces de sustraerse al carácter propagandístico que la propia ideología deportiva parecía sostener y alentar. En este contexto no deja de resultar sorprendente la aparición, en 1959, de la revista de estudios deportivos Citius, Altius, Fortius (1959-1976); un proyecto amplio, ambicioso, concebido dentro del sistema de publicaciones de la época pero que expresa una cierta apertura –técnica e ideológica –, que supone un horizonte más amplio, si lo comparamos con las ideas establecidas en la sociedad española y, sobre todo, en la clase dirigente. La revista, con una fuerte vocación humanista (alentada por sus fundadores y directores, Miguel Piernavieja y José María Cagigal), supone un punto de referencia internacional en el campo de estudio de la cultura físico-deportiva.
Los más de doscientos artículos y ensayos se abordan desde perspectivas muy dispares, procedentes de campos temáticos muy variopintos, pero siempre con el deporte, el cuerpo y la educación corporal como núcleo central.
Habiendo realizado un análisis temático y un repertorio clasificado de los artículos publicados, nos encontramos con textos de índole histórica, filosófica, sociológica, antropológica, jurídica, médica, pedagógica, etc. que permiten, con la perspectiva de los más de 30 años de su cierre, la revisión de las representaciones y conceptualizaciones del deporte y del cuerpo en la España oficial de los años sesenta y setenta.
Entre otros aspectos que el análisis comparado permite descubrir, resulta interesante constatar cómo a lo largo de su periodo de vigencia se producen determinadas lealtades y disidencias en relación con las concepciones establecidas y naturalizadas en la sociedad española de la época, condicionadas, sin duda, por la acción política y propagandística de quienes ostentaban el poder (leyes, manuales, prácticas pedagógicas, prácticas deportivas, etc.).
La metodología del estudio se basa, además de en el análisis bibliométrico, en técnicas descriptivas y comparativas, así como el análisis e interpretación temática e ideológica de los textos.

The emergence of written and illustrated martial arts manuals in the Late Middle Ages coincides with profound changes in European warfare.  In the 14th century, the feudal recall of knights gradually lost its previous significance, whereas mercenary soldiers took on an increasingly important role. In Europe, defensive tactics based on infantry combat were gaining ground, and eventually the use of firearms spread.  In this context, the development of a formalised teaching of martial arts is explained in particular as the endeavor for a more effective military training which ensured survival on increasingly dangerous battlefields at the end of the Middle Ages.

Pojav pisanih in ilustriranih borilnih priročnikov v poznem srednjem veku časovno sovpada z globokimi spremembami evropskega vojskovanja. V 14. st. je fevdalni sklic vitezov postopoma izgubil nekdanji pomen, vse večjo vlogo pa so prevzemali najemniški vojaki. V Evropi se je uveljavila se je pretežno defenzivna taktika, ki je temeljila na pehotnem bojevanju, sčasoma pa se je razširila tudi uporaba ognjenega orožja. V tem kontekstu si lahko razvoj formaliziranega poučevanja borilnih veščin razlagamo predvsem kot prizadevanje po učinkovitejšem vojaškem urjenju, ki je zagotavljalo preživetje na vse nevarnejših bojiščih konec srednjega veka.

Автореферат диссертации на соискание ученой степени доктора психологических наук. Специальность 13.00.04 - теория и методика физического воспитания, спортивной тренировки, оздоровительной и адаптивной физической культуры (психологические науки). Санкт-Петербург, 2005

La mayoría de las acciones realizadas en Deportes de Combate requieren que los atletas lleven a cabo gestos que demandarían niveles de movilidad por encima de la media.
A lo largo del presente artículo se presentará una mirada integradora, en donde se buscará ofrecer al lector de una serie de herramientas para una implementación segura y eficaz de los entrenamientos asociados a la mejora de la flexibilidad en Deportes de Combate.

This article begins by focusing on the presumed relation between the toughness fostered by mixed martial arts (MMA) and the stimulation, promulgation or maintenance of traditional 'hard man' forms of toxic masculinity. However, it adds an extra dimension to this discussion. It argues that (first) the UFC and (thereafter) MMA as a whole were in very tangible ways invented within and thanks to reality TV. As such, it contends that MMA's often debated relation to 'real' fighting needs to be approached in full awareness to the implications of its indebtedness to media representation. Because of this debt, it argues that media representation itself ought to be understood as having agency, and playing a role in the invention, maintenance or modification of gendered representation. Finally, it proposes that, so to speak, if a kind of 'MMA toxic masculinity' is the problem, then the solution may not simply be to 'change MMA'. Rather, both the problem and the solution may more precisely be located in the kinds of media representations that circulate about MMA subjects and subjectivities.

La fuerza es una capacidad física condicionante del rendimiento cuyo entrenamiento ha demostrado un gran número de beneficios en la salud de las personas, requiriéndose para su desarrollo un análisis profundo de los elementos que la caracterizan, entre ellos: el tiempo de descanso entre series.

This study aimed at examining the benefits and challenges of practicing Taekwondo (TKD) to adolescents in Addis Ababa. In so doing, the study investigated the nature of TKD training, benefits of practicing TKD, and challenges/problems related with practicing TKD. A descriptive concurrent mixed methods research design was used. Accordingly, the quantitative part of the study had 108 TKD adolescent participants while the qualitative part had 12 participants (eight TKD adolescents and four TKD coaches), from four TKD clubs in Addis Ababa. Both one‐stage cluster sampling technique and purposive sampling technique were employed to select participants for the quantitative and qualitative parts of the study, respectively. Questionnaires and in‐depth interviews were used to collect data from participants. Results of the study indicated: (1) the TKD training provided by the four TKD clubs was more of a modern/sport form of TKD; (2) TKD adolescents and coaches perceived that the benefits of TKD for adolescents are multifaceted, i.e., social benefits, physical benefits, mental benefits, self‐defense, addiction avoidance, and other benefits; and (3) though majority (63.6%) of the respondents claimed that they did not face any problem as a result of practicing TKD, the following were identified as major problems that could threaten the wellbeing of TKD adolescents: family‐related problems, community‐related problems, and competition‐related problems. In general, results show that the training of TKD can have a multifaceted positive contribution to adolescents' wellbeing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of taekwondo (TKD) training on the subjective well‐being (SWB) of adolescents (12‐18 years old) in Addis Ababa city. A cross‐sectional survey method was used; self‐administered questionnaire was the main data collection tool. A total number of 162 adolescents (108 TKD adolescents from four randomly selected TKD clubs and 54 non‐TKD adolescents from a randomly selected public high school), participated in the study. The study sought to determine TKD adolescents' level of SWB as measured by the Personal Wellbeing Index – School Children (PWI‐SC). Besides, adolescents in different groups (TKD adolescents in three groups according to rank/belt level and TKD adolescents and non‐TKD adolescents) were compared based on their score of PWI‐SC. Results of the study showed that: (1) TKD adolescents had high level (mean points) of SWB as measured by the PWI‐SC, i.e., 81.95 (95%CI: 79.70 to 84.20); (2) there was no significant difference in SWB among the three groups of TKD adolescents (lower, middle and high level belts) (F(2, 81) = 1.58, p > .05.); and (3) when compared with non‐TKD adolescents, TKD adolescents were found to have a significantly higher mean points of SWB, (t = 4.25(77.97), p < 0.001; d = 0.79). Overall, the results of this study indicated the training of TKD can have a positive contribution to adolescents' well‐being.

Introduction. In combat sports involving grappling, muscular strength is considered one of the most important physical com- ponents to be developed, specifically in upper limbs. The objective of our study was to examine if there are differences between elite and non-elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, in two kimono grip strength endurance tests.
Material and methods. Forty Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners were divided in four groups: Advanced; Non-Advanced; Recreational and Beginners. All participants performed the kimono grip pull-up tests, both maximum static lift and maximum num- ber of repetitions, until maximal volunteer fatigue with appropriated interval. A One Way analysis of variance was used to com- pare the groups. Tukey test was used as post hoc test.
Results. There were no difference in maximum static lift and maximum number of repetitions tests between Advanced (18 ± 3 rep; 62 ± 14 s) and Non-Advanced (17 ± 3 rep; 60 ± 0 s). There was difference (p<0.05) in maximum static lift test between Recreational (43 ± 5 s) and Beginners (28 ± 9), but not in maximum number of repetitions test between Recreational (9 ± 3 rep) and Beginners (7 ± 3) respectively. Moreover, we observed differences (p>0.05) between both tests in the Recreational and Beginners groups compared with Advanced and Non-Advanced groups.
Conclusions. We conclude that isometric kimono grip pull-up test is able to discriminate isometric strength endurance between 4 different levels of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu players groups, but dynamic kimono grip pull-up test only discriminate strength endurance with larger differences concerning practice levels.

The martial arts have been practiced for thousands of years and today mixed martial arts remains the fastest growing sport in the world. I am delighted to invite you to submit your best empirical and theoretical work on martial arts to this special issue. The goal for this special issue is to showcase exemplary work on martial arts from multiple disciplinary perspectives. For example, philosophers of mind and ethics may submit work on martial arts and the cultivation of virtues, and experimental philosophers and psychologists may submit work on the influence of martial arts on psychological well-being. Other topics of interest include the use of mental simulation during shadowboxing, flow experience during training or competition, weapons as extensions of the self, qualities of exemplary martial artists, the ethics and aesthetics of martial arts, and in general, what the study of martial arts may reveal about the nature of the human mind and human society. Integrative review articles, focused philosophical arguments, and original empirical research that is philosophically relevant will all be warmly received.

Reach out to Adam at croom@berkeley.edu with any questions about this SI.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/philosophies/special_issues/martial_arts |

Articles published in this special issue:
Croom, A. M. (2022). Muay Thai, psychological well-being, and cultivation of combat-relevant affordances. Philosophies, 7, 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies7030065 |
Cynarski, W. J. (2022). New concepts of Budo internalised as a philosophy of life. Philosophies, 7, 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies7050110 |
Holt, J. (2023). Physical philosophy: Martial arts as embodied wisdom. Philosophies, 8, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies8010014 |

In the representations of retiarii, the net appears very rarely, especially in the later times of gladiatura (third, fourth, and fifth centuries).Traditionally, this scarce presence has been explained by the argument that most artists avoided representing the net, an object supposedly difficult to depict, or because the net was not used in the scene depicted. Yet there is evidence that suggests that, actually, some retiarii fought without the net, above all in the late empire, if not always, at least in some combats. In this paper, we study that evidence.

The aim of this paper is to propose an analysis of the relationship between sports’ practice and adolescents’ gender identity construction. In particular, I will focus on the relation between the practice of oriental disciplines and gender socialization.
This contribution should be framed within two pieces of research that I have been conducting since 2008. The first one was my PhD research, whose goal was to describe and analyze the processes of gender/sexual identity construction among adolescents. The second research focused on the role of the oriental disciplines (in particular martial arts) in the construction of the body-identity of the practitioners.
Using these two pieces of research as a basis, I will introduce some features of the contemporary dynamics of socialization, explaining the role of the traditional and the “new” agents of socialization. I will then introduce the role of sport as a means of gender socialization. This will lead the reader directly to the last and most important part of this paper, that is, the case study: oriental disciplines and gender identity construction. I will focus on the paradoxical role of oriental disciplines, proposing a dialectical socialization environment, swinging between a holistic approach to the body and the tendency of those disciplines to reflect the hegemonic conceptions of masculinity and femininity.

This introductory chapter presents a brief rationale for the edited collection, 'Global Perspectives on Women in Combat Sports: Women Warriors around the World', outlining some of the major theoretical concerns involved with conducting gender-sensitive analyses of the meanings of women’s engagement in combat sports. As well as briefly introducing readers to the themes and issues covered throughout the rest of the volume, this chapter offers a rough typology of women’s combat sports and related activities. Drawing on previous social and historical research, this typology illustrates the multi-faceted, often contradictory relationships which exist between women’s participation and the maintenance or subversion of sexist formations of gender, thus aiming to sensitise readers to the complexities of these contemporary cultural phenomena.

In this dissertation, I analyze the practices of two large evangelical churches in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that use combat sport for social outreach. In evangelical fight ministries, pastors combine worship and close-contact grappling to teach people about God. These programs bookend Brazilian jiu-jitsu sparring sessions with thirty-minute Christian worship activities, such as singing and praying.

Christian fighters, like most fight scholars, feel arête (excellence of any kind) is the moral basis of combat sport. However, my auto-ethnographic research with evangelical and fight communities showed me that the more ethically fraught principle of voluntarism—which ascribes moral transformation to any consensual interaction—actually provides the moral common ground between evangelical Christianity and fighting for sport. Each individual’s willingness to participate determines the moral status of every action taken in the name of combat sport or evangelicalism. Combat sport without consent is merely assault. Likewise, evangelicalism without evangelism or conversion is merely mainline protestant Christianity. Both practices require a struggle and expressed consent.

Evangelical fight ministries provide an opportunity to see how evangelicals can use voluntarism to adopt and imbue almost any transaction with moral significance.

This essay is the first and only exploration of what the German Tradition of Chivalric Arts (Ritterlich Kunst)—with its three main lineages of Liechtenauer, Nürnberg, Gladiatoria—meant by masse for fencing and wrestling.  The findings may prove both revealing and riling: My conclusion is that masse meant “mass” in context of those past martial arts.  That simple and obvious equation differs from the current and hitherto uncontested consensus that masse et.al. meant “measure”.  Moreover, said consensus has no regard for whether the context be fechten (fencing) or ringen (wrestling), where multiple meanings for the same word may have existed.  Accordingly, many otherwise smart and talented fencers, wrestlers and scholars may misunderstand what masse really meant in context of Chivalric fencing and wrestling.  Counter to that, I hope to present a definitive and contextual analysis of relevant passages from those major German fechtbücher (fencing/fight-books) which spoke of masse; and accordingly provide a new, alternative and correct understanding for that significant word plus other related and relevant terms of Medieval German fighting arts.

This thesis explores the the concept of combat sports and games as examples of cultural heritage. More precisely it examines the different processes in which a combat practice becomes a symbol of cultural heritage, or in the opposite scenario, is discarded.

The following passages from major Fechtbücher (fencing/fight-books) of the German Tradition are meant to show the presence and the relevance of the principle of Indes (Inthereof) as found originally in the Liechtenauer Lineage of Bloszfechten (bare/unarmoured longsword fencing).  The word is a strange combination of genitive article, adverb, preposition and pronoun.  MHD Indes equates with NHD indes or indessen, and was synonymous with MHD underdez and MHD dÿ weile and even MHD mit.  It may translate into NE as meanwhile, meantime; or the suitable instantly, immediately; or the commendable within; but really neither the questionable just as, nor the suicidal simultaneously.  All such have served in various modern translations.  However, I think that Indes is best served by the wholly original translation of:  Inthereof.  That word serves the demands of its unique martial context for a meaning relevant to both time and space.  “Inthereof” provides us a new & superior understanding of Indes.

Problem. The main purpose of this paper is to explain, using theories, how practicing martial arts could help enhance the well-being of adolescents.
Method. The paper reviews and discusses literature regarding the nature of martial arts and the nature of adolescents and their well-being. In addition, study findings regarding the effects of martial arts and theories of well-being are discussed. The paper synthesizes these discussions into theoretical and conceptual frameworks. To do so, the paper emphasizes taekwondo (TKD) and the need-based theories of well-being.
Results. The paper showed that (1) the well-being of adolescents has different dimensions or adolescents have various fundamental needs; (2) the training of TKD has different components; and (3) the different components of the training help adolescents meet their fundamental needs, thereby improving adolescents' well-being.
Conclusion. Need-based theories of well-being could be used by researchers and others to understand and explain why martial arts training improve the well-being of adolescents.

Martial art studies is an interdisciplinary, international field in which ethnography plays a pivotal role. Since the 1970s, ethnographies of martial arts collectives have steadily developed in accordance with advancements of ethnography itself, including rich description and theoretical trends. Besides contributions from other ‘studies’ and disciplines, there are clear contributions from anthropology and sociology, including numerous monographs and special collections. Contemporary sociological ethnographies tend to centre around habitus and embodiment while analysing gender, violence and pain. Meanwhile, in anthropology, martial arts ethnographies have examined magic, ritual and religion in the native fighting systems across the world. In recent years, ethnographers have taken a more reflexive, first-person approach and have experimented with sensuous scholarship as well as autoethnographic and autophenomenological approaches. Virtual and ‘messy’ ethnographies are now also in development, although there remains scarce information on how to conduct ethnographic fieldwork on martial arts, despite the rich lessons they offer methodologists.

Traditionally, knowledge of martial arts, preparation for battle and fighting, was passed directly from master to student or from father to son. It was knowledge resulting from our own experience and the message of previous generations of experts. The master, according
to his knowledge and intuition, passed the secrets through demonstration and verbal instruction. The student had to mature to accept this knowledge – develop his psycho-physical abilities. In turn, the championship meant not only master skills, but life wisdom. To this day, self-respecting organizations admit master degrees only to adults, and the highest grades – achieving a high-level over-technical level...

In the weeks since her 14-second defeat of Cat Zingano, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has been everywhere – demonstrating her armbar on Jimmy Fallon, throwing 255-pound Triple H over her shoulder in the ring at WrestleMania, and mixing it up in the latest installment of the Fast & Furious epic. And everywhere Rousey goes, the question usually follows: Could she take on a male fighter? The question goes well beyond the current champion’s skills in the Octagon. (Read full article online - http://theallrounder.co/2015/04/09/ronda-rousey-and-mixed-sex-martial-arts/)

The notion for the greatness of the Homeric epics meets little opposition. In the ancient Hellenic world, they were not only a piece of cultural significance, but also a means of education (Plato.606e). One can argue that the Iliad “remains… the greatest epic poem in literature” (Fagles.157) Calling upon the educational properties of the Iliad, this study will evaluate any evidence regarding what the Hellenes valued in regards to battle-attributes, fighting-styles, and general combat abilities. Due to the warfare-oriented nature of the poem, such evidence could be found via the protagonistic roles of the chronicle. This, in turn, will give us a better picture, both of how the Hellenes fought in battle, including large-scale warfare but also in sport (such as with boxing, wrestling, and Pagration) – whereas such information has scarcely survived.

Wrestling in many cultures is considered an essential expression of manhood and masculinity. However, recent research in gender studies has problematized the notion of masculinity, suggesting that it has several different faces. Through examining the philosophies, representations and practices surrounding male wrestling in general and the sport of oiled Pelivanwrestling in Macedonia, this paper seeks to not only illustrate differing notions of masculinity but to show how they are expressed and played out in the
context of this traditional form of wrestling